Zach sat down next to Chris at the computer in the school library. "I'll bet I can get an A on a paper from Mrs. Grafton this semester."

Chris snorted. "Well. That came out of left field. Where on earth did that come from?"

Zach shrugged. "I don't know. Just something I was thinking about the other night."

"You really think Mrs. Grafton will give you an A? That will happen on... oh, the twelfth of never. Mrs. Grafton's the hardest teacher in the school. Do you have any idea how many perfect GPAs she's ruined?"

"Yeah, but I think I can do it."

Chris eyed Zach suspiciously. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you have trouble getting B's from the easier teachers. What makes you think Mrs. Grafton will give you an A?"

Zach shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm confident."

"Right. And if you do, I'll eat the paper that A came on."

"You've got yourself a deal." Zach grinned, sticking out his hand.

"Wait a second. You actually want to shake on this? Then you've got to do something if Mrs. Grafton doesn't give you an A. And I want this in writing."

Zach nodded. "Okay. Fair enough. If Mrs. Grafton doesn't give me an A, I'll... clean out your locker at the end of the semester. Now. To write this out." Zach cracked his knuckles and started typing.

I, Zachary J. Meyers hereby bet Christopher T. Waterman that Mrs. Grafton will give me an A on a paper this semester. If I lose the bet, I must clean out Chris's locker. If I win, Chris must eat the paper that the A came on.

Signed and dated this eighth day of October, the year of our Lord, two-thousand and thirteen.

Zachary J. Meyers and Christopher T. Waterman

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Oooo. Fancy smancy. When did you take lessons on the language of presidential proclamations?"

"Well, if we're going to make this official, it should sound official." Zach walked to the printer and grabbed the papers. "Okay. Two copies. One for me, one for you. We each sign both. Do we need a witness?" He looked around, then walked up to the library circulation desk. Mrs. Stanford? Chris and I need you to witness something. We've made a friendly bet here..." Zach and Chris grinned and shook hands.

Zach waited until the final bell rang, then walked over to Mrs. Grafton's classroom and tentatively knocked on the open door before walking in.

"Hi, Mrs. Grafton. I uh... need your help with something." Zach handed the proclamation to Mrs. Grafton and waited, rocking on his heels.

Mrs. Grafton covered her mouth and smiled. "I think I have a solution that will let you win this bet and still allow me to keep my reputation as the toughest teacher in the school." Zach's eyes went wide, as Mrs. Grafton smirked. "What, you don't think I know?" She scrunched up her face, imitating a student. "'Do you know how many perfect GPAs she's ruined?' Look, I may be hard, but it's for your own good. And I do have a fun side, so I'm going to help you out."

Mrs. Grafton walked over to her collection of bulletin board displays and pulled out a paper letter A. Then she walked over to the computer, quickly typed a document, and printed it. She stapled the paper letter A to the printout and handed it back to Zach. "Just wait until after I grade your next paper, so he doesn't get suspicious, then give Chris this. I even post dated it for you."

Zach read the paper and grinned. "Thanks, Mrs. Grafton. You're the best, even if you are the hardest teacher at Lawrence High."

A few weeks later, Zach shoved the paper in Chris's face, triumphantly. "Read it and weep, boy."

Chris read the paper.

Here is an A for Zach. And it's on a paper. You'll note Zach never said his grade had to be an A, nor did he say the A had to be on a paper he wrote. I've heard paper goes down better with a little sugar.

Signed and dated this sixth day of November, the year of our Lord, two-thousand and thirteen.

Mrs. Grafton

Chris stammered and answer. "But... You! And... Her!"

Zach grinned and threw his hands into the air. "Hey, it wasn't my idea. Bon Appétit!"

Chris groaned. "Can I at least remove the staple first?"

*********
Author's note:

Fictional, but inspired by a true story. I actually had a teacher who gave us paper letter "A's" after telling use he/she would give everyone an A.

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